All language subtitles for Vice S05E15 Future of Firearms & Russia Wins Climate Change

During the Obama administration,

firearms enthusiasts, fearing
harsh new gun control laws,

began snapping up inventory,

sparking the most
profitable period

in the history of the American
gun industry.

Now, a much more gun-friendly
president is in the Oval Office.

I will never infringe

on the right to keep
and bear arms.

Never, ever.

And that has manufacturers
exploring new markets

and ready to cash in once again.

During the eight years
of the Obama presidency,

more guns were sold in this
country than ever before.

Today, we've come here
to the largest

independently-owned
gun store in America

to learn about the future
of the gun industry.

All right, if you can just
tell me a little bit about the shop.

Sure. My father
started back

in the mid '50s as a coin shop,

bought a coin collection
that had some guns with it,

and that got him started
in the gun business.

Was the gun industry strong
in North Carolina back then?

Nothing like today.
Most gun companies

went bankrupt between wars.

The history of the gun business
has been a lot of boom and bust.

So, looking around, if feels like
we're in-- in a boom right now.

Probably one
of the biggest booms ever.

Now, how many different gun
models do you guys have here?

- Thousands.
- Thousands.

Competition, hunting,
collecting, doomsday.

- Doomsday?
- Yes, the preppers,

people that think that we
could have a nuclear attack

- or some type of pandemic.
- Yeah.

- They're getting ready.
- Yes.

What are the most
popular guns that you sell?

The most popular gun
is the AR-15 type,

the military-looking gun.

Bring it inside your
shoulder just a little bit.

Why do you own guns?

It's just like going
to the golf course.

Some people go for beers.
Some people shoot AR-15s.

Yeah.

In the past decade,
the gun industry has grown

by an unprecedented amount.

There are now over 130,000
federal licenses issued

to sell firearms in America.

Compare that to the estimated
14,000 McDonald's nationwide,

and you have almost 10 times
as many potential places

to buy a gun
as you do a Big Mac.

To accommodate this growth,

gun manufacturing
has expanded massively.

So, we're at Kel-Tec. This is the
largest gun manufacturer in Florida,

and one of the largest
in the country.

They're also the only gun
manufacturer we contacted

who's willing
to let us film inside.

- Hey. Suroosh.
- Hey. How you doing?

Good.
Nice to meet you.

- I'm Chad.
- Nice to meet you, Chad.

Step on out here.
This is our warehouse.

- This is the front half of our CNC shop.
- Wow. Holy shit.

We have three shifts,

and we run them
pretty much 24/7.

- Really? Wow.
- Yeah.

What's your favorite
part of your job?

The fact that I make guns.

- Yeah.
- I love guns.

- You do?
- Yeah.

He can do this with his eyes
closed at this point, right?

We do about 150,000 guns a year.

Every year, the back order
seems to get bigger.

While manufacturing
work nationwide

has declined drastically
since the '80s,

the gun industry has
actually created more jobs,

growing 81 percent since 2008.

What do you attribute
this growth in Kel-Tec to?

I think with the political
landscape being what it was

over the last eight years, people
really needed stuff, you know?

They felt like their rights
were gonna be taken away,

so they needed to get
this, that, and the other

before they couldn't get
'em anymore.

The way the gun industry
is portrayed by the media--

How does the gun industry
feel about that?

We feel attacked.
You know, any time you've got

a political landscape that wants
to put 260 people out of work,

no matter what we're making,
that's an attack.

A lot of that is perpetuated by the
media in the way they cover these--

you know, these "mass shootings"

and these terrible things
that happen.

So, why do gun sales go
up after mass shootings then?

Every time that happens,
the public that owns firearms,

they want to get those things
before they get banned.

The phenomenon Chad describes

actually defined the Obama era.

As a country, we have been
through this too many times,

and we're gonna have to come
together and take meaningful action

to prevent
more tragedies like this,

regardless of the politics.

While Obama was pushing
for tougher gun control laws

after Sandy Hook,
the three largest gun makers

earned a record-breaking $247 million
in profits the following year.

The years 2009 to 2016

have been referred to
as the Barack boom.

When five of the 10
deadliest mass shootings

in recent American
history occurred

and gun sales nearly doubled.

It's not even the fact that a particular
firearm was used in a shooting.

It's the fact
that everyone's scared

that the government's
gonna ban that particular gun.

Now, circumstances
have fundamentally changed.

The eight-year assault

on your Second Amendment
freedoms

has come to a crashing end.

Donald Trump's win insured

that no gun control laws
would be forthcoming,

which sent gun stocks

into a downward spiral.

Without the fear of gun control,

the firearms industry is missing

its greatest
marketing tool ever,

so they're having to innovate.

And there's no better way

to insure the future security
of an industry

than appealing to the next generation.

Good finish.
All right.

Show me clear.

Cool as ice.

She competes
against retired military,

active duty law enforcement,

- border patrol.
- Mmm.

I get asked all the time,
"Oh my gosh,

are you worried
when she starts dating?"

And I go...
"Not at all."

Shooter ready?
Standby.

Last year at the Smith
& Wesson Nationals,

she placed fourth in the
country in pre-teen rifle.

That's big.

Excellent!

At last year's NRA convention,

one of her sponsors advertised
appearances at their booth for her.

And I was stunned.
I turned around,

and there was a line
of 40 adults

that were lined up to get
her autograph.

Two hours of just signing autographs.
Now, that's insane.

Industry-sponsored
organizations

donate tens
of millions of dollars

to youth shooting
programs every year.

And just like the "X" Games

did for skateboarders,
these shooting leagues

have transformed
their young participants

into branding gold
for gun businesses.

Alamo Tactical have
sponsored two pistols for her.

Molon Labe custom-built
her AR-15s.

Blade Tech provide all
of the magazine holders,

the gun belts,
the different holsters,

Gun For Hire, for the last
three years running,

has given her a check
for $5,000 a year

- to help cover expenses.
- That's why his logo's so, so big.

In a lot of ways,
it's like NASCAR.

The more you contribute,
the bigger you get

advertised on the jersey.
Yeah.

Shyanne and Vanessa don't
just shoot competitively,

they're also part of an organization
cofounded by Shyanne's father

that advocates for gun rights known
as Youth Shooters of America.

So, Shyanne, you spoke to the New Jersey
senate when you were 10 years old?

- About what?
- 'Cause at the time, they were trying to lower

the magazine limits
to 10 rounds,

and I was saying how that could
potentially hurt my career,

and I no longer would be
able to do it in that state

if they had passed that law.

And what happened? They didn't pass it.
They vetoed it.

In their fight
for broader gun laws,

these kids have become

America's youngest
gun lobbyists.

Hey, guys...

Are we going to see
the normalization of...

guns in this country
on some level?

I believe that the
movement of gun control...

is... almost
on life support.

I think we have a four-year
window that, if we do it right,

we could actually put
a serious, serious...

setback on gun control.

The next phase in the gun
rights movement has already begun.

This year, two separate bills

were introduced before Congress,

which would greatly expand the
rights of concealed carriers,

effectively erasing
many gun-free zones

within public schools
and government lands.

And the firearms industry is already
in lockstep with this legislation

as they accessorize
to meet the needs

of the concealed-carry
consumer.

It's a breakaway opening.

- Everything is hidden under the waistband.
- Oh, I see.

I can just snap
my wrist and draw.

I created a
concealed-carry line of holsters

that were practical for women.

You wouldn't know it, but I'm actually
carrying three firearms and a knife.

The name of the
jacket is the Executive.

I'm ready to roll.

Pepper spray, a
fully-weighted 9mm Shield.

Here's a knife,
and in here, magazines.

Concealed carry is
growing in popularity

as more people feel the need to protect
themselves everywhere they go,

but what they're protecting
themselves from can vary greatly.

Mohammad Shuayb is a dentist

who recently decided
to conceal carry

even at work.

Are you ready?
Yes.

About a year
and a half ago, I went and got

my concealed weapons permit.

It's a .357,
and it'll do its job.

It doesn't even have
a safety on it.

So, all you have to do
is pull the trigger? - That's it.

I will give this back to you now.

Dr. Shuayb got his
concealed carry permit

because, as a Syrian Muslim,
he felt increasingly targeted

and in danger because of it.

When you walk
with your wife in the mall,

you can see
how people look at her,

like they just want to come
and tear her scarf off,

like it's bothering them
or something.

Mmm. Is the Muslim community
here feeling more targeted?

Very. It's not like,
all of a sudden,

you have an influx of
white supremacist people.

It's like this constant
negative rhetoric

is infusing them with something.

And you never know
who's gonna switch up on you.

That's why I carry it.

Does it make you feel safer,
owning the gun? No. No.

Having it on you makes you think
of the worst-case scenario more.

It's become an environment
where nobody is comfortable.

So, we're standing outside the
Islamic Society of New Tampa.

This mosque was attacked
by an arsonist last week,

and hate crimes like this
have been on the rise

since Trump started
campaigning two years ago.

This is the kind of stuff

the community deals with.
It's...

You know, our work's
been growing

more important
by the day, unfortunately.

I mean, we've had
a huge influx of calls for help,

especially since Donald Trump
started his campaign,

targeting the American-
Muslim community.

If you take it back
to November of 2015,

- Mm-hmm.
- Since then, unfortunately, we've documented

a 500 percent increase
in anti-Muslim hate crimes.

Mosques being torched
and burned down

Our own--
a mosque I go to,

I do sermons at sometimes,

was arsoned over
this past weekend.

How has the Muslim community
in Florida responded to that?

Unfortunately, many of us were
pushed to start considering

taking serious measures
to arm and protect ourselves.

If somebody's going
to come at you,

or your family,
or your house of worship,

with violent intentions,
you need to be ready.

Especially--
I'm giving the sermon,

you see somebody walking in,
opening fire,

what are you gonna do, you know?

Are you gonna have
to duck for cover

and watch your members
getting slaughtered?

Or can you whip out your handgun

and do what you have to do to keep
your community safe? Can you?

Yes, and you should.

With so many millions of guns,

being produced
and purchased every year,

and only 10 states
requiring owners

to report when
they get lost or stolen,

the illegal market for guns
in America is huge.

An upcoming Harvard-Northeastern
University study

estimates that 400,000 guns
are stolen every year,

many of which are sold
on the black market.

Researchers estimate
that these illegal guns

get used in as many as eight
out of every 10 gun crimes...

...primarily in poor,
urban centers

like Chicago,
Baltimore, and Detroit.

Thanks.

So, where do these guns
actually come from?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Why don't you guys buy guns legally?
Why do you have to come here?

And are there
a lot of people like you?

For years,
the Obama administration pushed

for stricter gun control laws
under the belief

that they would curtail crime.

But that era has given way
to a different belief.

The only thing that stops

a bad guy with a gun

is a good guy with a gun.

It's a belief
backed by an industry

that values itself
at over $50 billion

and a president that
broke spending records

campaigning for it.

You know, when people
can defend themselves

and their families,
we're all safer.

Everyone should have a gun
that's sane, trained,

and have-- be able to use it
for protection.

I will defend my right
to own a gun

until they take it
from my hands forcibly.

I have a thousand rounds
in my closet.

I hold a thousand lives
in my closet.

You came through for me,

and I am going
to come through for you.

It was only a year ago that
the COP Paris agreement

was ratified with 146 countries

committing to limit
global warming

to less than
two degrees Celsius.

Now, it looked like the world
was finally coming together

to tackle climate change.

But now, with President Trump

and his administration
of climate-change skeptics

and pro-fossil fuel appointees,

America is reversing course.

It is time to exit
the Paris accord.

Now, to see that school of
thought already in progress,

ironically, you have no
further to look than Russia,

a pro-energy country that sees
climate change not as a threat

but instead
an economic opportunity.

It's not as cold as I
thought it would be here.

Sergey Balmasov helps coordinate

shipping traffic in Murmansk,

the world's biggest Arctic port.

He told us that
with warming temperatures,

the city will thrive.

What is Murmansk known for?

The Northern Sea Route
is a legendary shipping lane

along Russia's Arctic coastline

that has been
largely inaccessible

because of the dense sea ice.

But now, that ice is melting,

opening up vast, untouched reserves
of oil, gas, and minerals.

So, while much
of the world fears

the catastrophic effects
of climate change,

Russia is looking
to capitalize on it.

This is the Murmansk port. It's
called the gateway to the Arctic.

We're about to get
on this massive cargo ship

that's owned by Norilsk Nickel,

and we're gonna ride with them
along the Northern Sea Route

as they transport
a bunch of nickel and copper

to the next port city,
Arkhangelsk.

Norilsk Nickel,
a massive shipping

and mining conglomerate
worth more than $20 billion

is just one of the companies betting
big on the Northern Sea Route.

Just a few years ago,

navigating these waters
was extremely difficult,

but that's changing now.

The ice is melting away
at record rates,

shrinking in summer months
to about a quarter of its size

in just 30 years.

How much has traffic increased on the
Northern Sea Route in the last few years?

Cargo ships
traveling from Russia

have historically used the
Suez Canal to reach Asia

navigating
around three continents,

and often traveling
more than 10,000 miles.

However, the Northern Sea Route

cuts that distance
almost in half

and can save up to 15
days in travel time.

And that exploitation
doesn't stop with sea routes.

Norilsk's ability to ship
faster and cheaper

also means stepping up
its core business, mining.

We're going down into Norilsk's
nickel mine right now.

We're going more than a
kilometer underground.

But as production
here increases,

so does
the environmental impact.

What's that smell?

What are the effects
of that being released

into the air,
into the environment?

The difference
is Norilsk Nickel emits

so much sulfur dioxide,
that acid rain has left

a dead zone around the city
as far as the eye can see.

This, combined with heavy metal waste
that seeps into the ground and the water,

has turned Norilsk into one of the
most polluted cities on Earth.

And while Norilsk has made
efforts to reduce its footprint,

just last year, a chemical spill

turned one of the local
rivers bright red.

And studies have shown
that Norilsk's waterways

are flush
with industrial pollution.

But with business booming,

residents here
don't seem to mind.

Is it safe to swim here?
Is it polluted?

Nyet.

How has the
environment been affected

by all the mines and the
factories and all of that?

But it's not just he
locals here that are putting

a positive spin
on the effects of pollution.

We spoke to Nobel-prize
winning climatologist

Dr. Oleg Anisimov,
who is studying

what climate change could mean

for the Russian economy.

We see the effects
of climate change

as negative, catastrophic.

Do you see it that way?

No. The problem
of climate change

is actually the problem of
adaptation to climate change.

This is not a tragedy.

Certainly, some places
will become unlivable.

But on the other hand, there are
places that will become more livable.

One should not consider
challenge of climate change

without connection
to the potential benefits.

There are regions in the world where
there are no potential benefits,

but Russia is not such a region.

The list of gains is, perhaps,

advances of the modern
agricultural lands to the north,

which creates lot of jobs.

We have savings
on the heating energy.

The task is to turn

these potential benefits
into real benefits.

Russia is lucky.

And as climate
change continues to create

new economic opportunities,

Russia's fossil fuel industry

is in the mood to celebrate.

It's National Oil Day in Russia,

and we're in Surgut, which is
the oil capital of the country,

and also one
of its fastest-growing cities.

And Gazprom, one of the
big oil companies here,

is throwing a huge celebration
for all of their workers.

Not only were
residents of Surgut

unconcerned
about climate change,

many we spoke to felt
overwhelmingly positive about it.

This nonchalant attitude

is now a national phenomenon.

A recent Pew study revealed
that Russians were

the least concerned people
on the planet

over the threat
of global climate change.

And as the population surges
in boomtowns like Surgut,

developers are cashing in.

Local real estate mogul
Evgeny Barsov

is building whole neighborhoods
from scratch

to accommodate
the influx of people.

As we looked out on his
budding real estate empire,

Evgeny repeated familiar
arguments often used

by fossil fuel proponents
in the US.

Do you ever hear about
climate change on the radio,

or on TV, or in the newspaper?

Not a single person
we spoke to in Surgut

took the threat
of climate change seriously,

and they might be taking their
cues from Russian state media.

While the Russian media tries
to sow doubt about climate change,

the first signs of its long-term
impact are already plain to see.

At Lake Baikal, a
jewel of Russian tourism,

forest fires last year were
some of the worst in history

and were covered extensively
by the international press.

Fifty-one
individual fires have spread

across tens of thousands
of acres of land.

Particularly
hard hit were the forests

around the world's largest
and deepest freshwater lake.

NASA's satellite imagery showed

more than eight million
acres of forest

were destroyed in early 2016,

but the Russian government
tried to downplay it,

reporting just a fraction
of the damage.

It seemed like
everyone in Russia wanted

to focus on the benefits
of climate change

while ignoring the costs.

And the national narrative
is being orchestrated

from just one place,
the Kremlin.

To get the government's
official stance,

we spoke to President Putin's

top climate change advisor,
Alexander Bedritsky.

Russia's pledge in Paris
actually allows the country

to increase emissions for years to come.
Why is that?

Until recently, many
Americans would've considered this

an outdated philosophy
that only made sense

during
the industrial revolution.

But now, it's once again becoming
doctrine in the US as well.

Regarding climate change,

I think the president was
fairly straightforward.

We're not spending money
on that anymore.

We consider that to be
a waste of your money.

A show of hands,
those of you who kind of hope

Administrator Pruitt will just
sort of make the EPA go away.

As of today,

the United States will cease

all implementation

of the nonbinding Paris accord.

What do you think
America's role is

in fighting climate change
compared to Russia?

But with all
these economic opportunities,

it's hard to deny
that climate change

will be financially
beneficial for Russia.